Lifestyle Communities appeals exit fee ruling
The victory was handed to more than 80 residents of a retirement community in Wollert, in Melbourne's outer north.
Guest: Sam Hooper, SC
Sam Hooper, SC
Producer: Eddy Diamond
Lifestyle Communities statement:
Lifestyle Communities CEO Henry Ruiz said the company takes its compliance obligations very seriously and has sought legal advice at various stages of its history to ensure contracts are compliant with all relevant legislation. He said the company was disappointed with the outcome.
Full statement here.
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ABC News
28 minutes ago
- ABC News
Brisbane house rents record first quarter without growth since 2022
House rents in Queensland's capital have not increased quarter-on-quarter for the first time since December 2022, a new report shows. That is not necessarily all good news for renters, as, according to property group Domain, the median cost for a rental house in Brisbane remains a record-high figure of $650 a week. Despite this, a tenants' advocacy group said about one in 10 of the calls it had received this year were from renters who had been hit with large increases. Domain's chief of research, Nicola Powell, said the new data stood in "stark contrast" to the double-digit growth experienced across the state in recent years. "I think it really does showcase that those extreme rates of growth [seen] during the heart of the pandemic are in the rear view and we are now starting to see a more stable and steady rental market," she said. But Dr Powell said while growth had flatlined, it was still a landlord's market across Brisbane. "The vacancy rate for Brisbane is 0.7 per cent and for a balanced rental market that rate needs to sit between 2-3 per cent," she said. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland's Antonia Mercorella said the market had found its "new normal" as renters hit what she called the "affordability ceiling". "We're probably not going to see rental prices moving at that very frightening pace that we've seen," she said. "I think now we've just got some renters looking for alternatives, and that might include things like a co-tenancy arrangement or simply moving back in with parents or other family and friends." She cautioned it was unlikely rents would fall any time soon because the market was more likely to plateau. Tenants Queensland CEO Penny Carr said the average rent increase she had seen over the past six months equated to "about $83 per week", which she said was creating highly stressful situations for renters. "At the moment we are not seeing too much abatement and what we do see happening is people having back-to-back rent increases," she said. "People are having to make difficult decisions between buying food for their kids or uniforms to start school and paying the rent sometimes or paying their bills, fixing the car. "People are one emergency away." The median rental cost for a Brisbane house now stands at $250 more a week than in December 2019 — just months before COVID-19 hit. Individual suburb data shows some parts of Queensland have experienced an increase of more than 70 per cent over the five-year period. In Ipswich, west of Brisbane, median house prices increased by 73.3 per cent in that time. But in Bundall, on the Gold Coast, prices doubled to a median rent of $1,300 a week. Some parts of regional Queensland had also been hard hit, with Bundaberg renters experiencing an 83 per cent increase, for example. Ms Carr said rent had become unaffordable for many households and she called for rent increases to be matched to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). "What that would do is smooth out those increases over time," she said. "It's a much more achievable way for people to know they can manage the increases that might be in front of them."
ABC News
42 minutes ago
- ABC News
Former top RBA official says it risks falling into persistent policy error
Millions of mortgage borrowers are not the only ones disappointed by the Reserve Bank's decision to not cut interest rates this month. Former RBA assistant governor Luci Ellis, who is now Westpac's chief economist, described the decision — by a six-to-three majority of the monetary policy board — to wait before cutting rates again as "uncharitable". Westpac and its customers rely on her interpretation of what the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Board will do with interest rates from meeting to meeting. And, although she suspected the Reserve Bank might wait until August to cut interest rates again, she still switched her forecast to a July interest rate cut after weak monthly inflation figures were released by the ABS a fortnight ago. "One of the reasons I [originally forecast the next interest rate cut in August] was a sense that … they would wait, thinking that they wouldn't use the full information set available to them now," she explained. In other words, Dr Ellis assumed the Monetary Policy Board would wait for the more comprehensive June quarter inflation data before cutting interest rates. "It felt a little bit uncharitable [to forecast that]," she said. However, the majority of six opted for a cautious approach, waiting for that more detailed data to confirm that inflation was falling in line with the Reserve Bank's forecasts, which have it hitting 2.6 per cent — close to the mid-point of the 2–3 per cent target. In a LinkedIn post late on Tuesday, Dr Ellis expressed some frustration over the RBA's decision to leave the cash rate unchanged. "Why on earth wait?" she wrote. In the post-meeting statement, the RBA explained that "the board judged that it could wait for a little more information to confirm that inflation remains on track to reach 2.5 per cent on a sustainable basis". However, Dr Ellis found that explanation unconvincing. "I think it was quite an unconfident call by the RBA not to move this time," Dr Ellis said. "Unless they really think they might not move in August, it wasn't clear why [the RBA] didn't already have enough information to make that decision." The Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Board said it would "be attentive to the data and the evolving assessment of risks to guide its decisions". "In doing so," the board said, "it will pay close attention to developments in the global economy and financial markets, trends in domestic demand, and the outlook for inflation and the labour market." The next ABS Labour Force data will be published on July 17, while the June quarter CPI data will be released on July 30. But Dr Ellis argued the RBA was focused almost exclusively on the quarterly inflation data. "This has been the rounds that we've been on for the last 18 months," she lamented. "It shouldn't, in some sense, come down to one number, but each quarter it has. "I mean the number of times that our [interest] rate calls have hinged on [the question], 'Was there a surprise [in that CPI data]?' — it's kind of a clunky way to have to make your [interest] rate forecasts. "But on the other hand, they're at the point where they're trying to work out if inflation really is comfortably inside the 2 to 3 per cent target range, whether it's going stay there, whether it's going to get to that 2.5 per cent [inflation] rate." Dr Ellis believed that was not the best way to make monetary policy decisions. "It's going to keep coming down to the quarterly CPI, and it will mean that people focus so much on that number instead of on the broader assessment of the economy," she cautioned. "And that's a shame." Investment firm, Deutsche Bank, similarly took aim at what it perceived as contradictory language in the RBA's communications. "The [RBA's] post-meeting statement notes that: 'While recent monthly CPI Indicator data suggest that June quarter inflation is likely to be broadly in line with the forecast, they were, at the margin, slightly stronger than expected,'" chief economist Phil O'Donaghoe noted. "We struggle to interpret what the RBA means with this phrase. There were a few economists, however, who anticipated the central bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged. Betashares chief economist David Bassanese was one of them. "As I have consistently argued in recent weeks, the case to cut rates today was never compelling," he noted. "While consumer spending remains stubbornly weak, the labour market remains strong. "And while the recent monthly CPI report showed a large decline in annual trimmed mean inflation to 2.4 per cent, monthly reports are notoriously volatile. "Only the month prior, trimmed mean annual inflation was at 2.8 per cent." Underlying inflation at 2.8 per cent indicates price growth more broadly in the economy could easily move outside the RBA's 2 to 3 per cent comfort zone. "To my mind," Mr Bassanese added, "the RBA [will] wait for the more reliable quarterly CPI report later this month to confirm a decline in underlying inflation before cutting rates again in August." Dr Ellis, however, argued this approach could push the RBA into chronic policy error. "I think where there is a risk partly around the idea that maybe the RBA is seeking so much certainty in the data that they end up continuously behind the curve more generally," she warned. "So if it forms into a pattern of behaviour where the RBA doesn't have the courage of its analysis, isn't willing to make a forecast that is anything other than locked in based on backward-looking data, that would be a problem. "But it's not what we're seeing yet."
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Melbourne Cup prizemoney to be paid from first to 24th after $10m race confirmed
Racing Victoria has confirmed prizemoney increases for Australia's most famous and best races. Melbourne Cup prizemoney has officially increased to $10m with all starters to share in the bounty. The Cox Plate has also been boosted to $6m – up from $5m – to mark the historic last weight-for-age championship on the traditional Moonee Valley Racecourse before a major redevelopment. Racing Victoria is set to confirm prizemoney schedule for the 2025-25 season on Thursday. This masthead on Monday revealed the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate prizemoney decisions. VRC chief executive Kylie Rogers has welcomed the Melbourne Cup prizemoney increase. 'We are thrilled to finally be able to allocate the prizemoney the Lexus Melbourne Cup deserves,' Rogers said. 'It's the 'People's Cup' and frankly $10m allocated across all participants from one to 24 keeps the dream alive for all local, domestic and international participants.' Prizemoney historically for the Cup has been paid down to 12th place from $4.4m to $160,000. While the status quo remains for the top half of the Cup field, from the first Tuesday in November this year 13th to 24th will each receive $100,000. Last year the Melbourne Cup carried $8m prizemoney and a $750,000 18-carat gold three-handled trophy. Rogers praised VRC chief racing officer Leigh Jordon for the new payment structure. 'It takes a lot to get to the Cup,' Jordon said. 'Spreading it right down to the bottom gives everyone a chance in the race domestically and I think internationally it will help a little bit too … it takes a bit to fly out here and participate in the Cup. 'It's good for our grassroots participants here in Australia and New Zealand … it's the People's Cup and we want everyone to be able to run in it.' The VRC has also officially recognised the Geelong Cup and Moonee Valley Gold Cup as 'win and you're in' Melbourne Cup qualifiers. 'Geelong Cup and Moonee Valley Gold Cup have historically delivered, naturally, Melbourne Cup starters and so we thought we would richly reward them and formalise them as part of our golden ticket program,' Rogers said. 'Now we have a $10m Melbourne Cup with 10 golden tickets leading in.' An industry-wide collaborated and approved 'strategic reallocation' has allowed RV to maintain the overall prizemoney pool while also being able to boost select races from grassroots to elite level. A reduction in All-Star Mile and Australian Cup prizemoney – now $2m from $2.5m last year – has boosted the Newmarket Handicap ($1.5m to $2m) and Melbourne Cup.
